Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Welcome to the first-ever edition of Tech x Policy, the newest addition to The Ken’s line-up of premium newsletters. 

Starting today, every Wednesday at 4 pm IST, our team of writers will land in your inboxes with sharp insights on the engine that powers the modern world: tech. And the businesses and policies—both government and corporate—that shape it. 

This edition is limited access, available only to subscribers of our premium bundles. Of course, you can always choose to unsubscribe from this newsletter here, but I’d really recommend you don’t. 

Because let’s face it, there are few things more consequential in today’s world than tech—a word that has grown so broad it almost feels redundant. Food, housing, education, politics, climate… tack on a ‘tech’ at the end of it, and you’ve probably identified a multi-billion-dollar business sector. 

Put them all together, and you’re looking at a sector size of US$6 trillion; or even US$9 trillion, depending on who you ask. 

Headline numbers like these are just that, though—headlines. 

Underneath it all, there’s an entire labyrinth of decisions, interests, and market forces that determine what we see on the outside. And they often have a deep effect on our lives—whether that’s the change in political discourse sparked off by Musk’s Twitter takeover, the fallout of the power struggle between Google and regulators, or tweaks to government policy that determine who gets their hands on your personal data. 

With Tech x Policy, my co-writers and I will put these developments and choices under the lens and break them down for you. And we’ll do it the way The Ken does everything—with nuanced perspectives underpinned by strong reporting, sans hype or sensationalism.

And by we, I mean: 

• Pratap Vikram Singh, who covers policy, telecom and Big Tech companies, with a record of breaking some of the biggest and most essential tech stories over the past few years. 
• Anushka Jain, who specialises in tech policy and hardware firms, and comes with a deep understanding of how policy is formulated, and strong sources in the corridors of power. 
• Vanita Bhatnagar, who covers workspaces and policy, and a trained lawyer to boot, bringing with her the legal lens required to break down complex policy. 
• And of course, there’s me—Soumyajit Saha. I cover OTTs and Big Tech companies, and love connecting seemingly-siloed company developments to broader macroeconomic trends.